Spring air-gun.



I No. 767,968. PATENTED AUG. 16, 190 1.

M. P. STANLEY.

SPRINGAIR GUN. AFFLIOATION mum NOV. 26, 1900. RENEWED JAN. 2, 1904. NOi iODEL.

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UNITED Y STATES Patented August 16, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

MERRITT F. STANLEY, OF NORTHVILLE, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO THE JAMES A. DUBNAR MANUFACTURING (30., OF NORTHVILLE,

MICHIGAN.

SPRING AIR-GUN SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 767,968, dated August 16, 1904. Application filed November 26, 1900. Renewed January 2, 1904. Serial No. 187,521. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MERRITT F. STANLEY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Northville, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring Air-Guns, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has relation to air-guns, and particularly to the mechanism for compressing the spring or what may be termed the action. of the gun; and it consists in the particular construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which constitute what I term a sliding-barrel action, all as more fully hereinafter described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved air-gun. Fig. 2 is a vertical central longitudinal section as in the normal position of the parts. with the parts as in the act of compressing the spring. Fig. 4 is a'detached elevation of the barrel. Fig. 5 is a detached elevation of one of the stockplates and one of they fore-arm plates. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line 6 6, Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section on line 7 7 Fig.- 1. Fig.8 is avertical cross-section on line 8 8, Fig. 3.

A is the stock.

B is the barrel, composed of a tubular casing end of a piston-rod. The piston-chamber c is open at the rear end, and its forward end forms an abutment for the piston at the junction of the bore with the piston-chamber.

E is a guide-lug secured to the under side of the barrel at or near its rear end, said guide-' lug being formed with a web (Z and head a.

F is a fore-end rigidly attached to the gunstock in line with the barrel and forming a socket'to receive the rear end of the barrel and the guide-lugEthereof and form a guide Fig. 3 is a similar section as Fig. 2-

in which the barrel .is adapted to have a limited endwise movement. As shown in the drawings, the, fore-end is formed of two complementary halves, which may be stamped out of sheet metal and are secured together at the front ends by a screw f, which also secures in position between them the rubber buffer h, which forms a stop for the guide-lugE of the barrel. The fore-end is secured to the gunstock by means of two stock-plates G, which jointly form at their rear ends a socket into which the end of the stock is secured by a screw J and ribs 7', formed on the inside of the stock plates engaging into corresponding grooves in the stock. Each stock-plate is formed at its forward end with two projections and Z, the projections is forming jointly a support which projects into the rear end of the barrel-shaped upper portion of the foreend, while the lower projections Z form jointly between them asocket to receive the rear end of the contracted lower portion of the foreend. By means of two screws mm, as shown, the fore-end is rigidly secured to the stockplates.

H is the trigger pivotally secured in the fore-end by the screw m. It has aforwardlyprojecting hooked arm 0, adapted to engage the hook p of the piston-rod, and a clownwardly-projecting finger-piece "q. The triggerspring 9" is held in position by a sockets, cast in halves on the inner faces of the stock: plates, and the usual trigger-guard I is prothe stock-plates.

J is an abutment for the spring of the gun. As shown, it is of cast metal with a rounding head 6 fitting loosely into the gun-barrel, and on its under side it has a guide-groove u for receiving and guiding the piston-rod. The rear end of this back-stop is abutted against the gun-stock by stepping it into recesses 4), formed in the lugs k.

The gun is provided with the usual front and rear sights, and the barrel may be arranged for shooting any kind of projectile. As shown, itis adapted to shoot a large-sized shot, which is dropped into the barrel through the muzzle and becomes wedged in the rear end of the barrel by making the same slightly contracted.

The preferable way in which I secure the inner tube which forms the bore of the barrel is by means of a wooden plug w, which fits the casing and is held in position therein by a metal sleeve 00, secured in the front end, metal washers being placed against the end of the wooden plug to protect the breech and form an abutment for the piston, and a cap 2 is secured in the front end, with which the front sight is integrally formed.

The parts being constructed and arranged as shown and described, they are intended to operate as follows: In the normal position of the parts, as shown inFig. 2, the spring C is slightly compressed and the piston bearing against the end of the piston-chamber holds the sliding barrel in its forward position, with the guide-lug E pressed against the rubber buffer h. To charge the gun, the barrel, which constitutes a sliding piston-chamber, is pushed rearwardly into the fore-end till the hook p of the piston-rod engages with the hooked arm 0 of the trigger, as shown'in Fig. 3. If the shot is then dropped into the muz- Zle and the barrel then drawn forward again into its normal position, the gun is ready to be discharged by pressing on the trigger. The act of compressing the spring by pushing the barrel into the fore-end may be accomplished by taking hold of the barrel with the hand; but a more simple and easy way is to press the gun with the muzzle against the ground or against a wall, tree, or any other fixed object. In compressing the spring it will be seen that the piston-rod is guided in the groove of the abutment J, while at the same time the hook p is guided in the foreend. The barrel is held in alinement solely by means of the guide-lug E, which engages with its T-head into depressions 0', formed in the fore-end, and the barrel itself slides freely in the upper tubular portion of the fore-end, thereby making it slide freely and prevent abrasion of the metal, which might injure the appearance of the barrel.

My construction has many advantages. It is composed of few parts, of simple form and manufacture, cheap to construct, and readily taken apart and put together again, as it requires only four screws to secure all the parts together, and by removing only two of them that is, the screws on and n-the gun comes apart and the spring can be drawn out from the barrel. Comparing my sliding-barrel action with the breakdown style or lever-action air-gun it will also be seen that mine is much more automatic in that it does not require as much manipulation of the gun and can be performed while lying under cover or in any position or while running. Besides it offers an increased measure of safety in that if the hunter should inadvertently pull the trigger before the barrel is drawn forward into its shooting position, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 3, the spring will exert its force only against the barrel and push it forward until the lug E strikes against the rubber buli'er; but the projectile will acquire no force. This part of the action is thus comparable to the half-cock of the ordinary firearm and forms a like measure of safety.

hat I claim as my invention is 1. In a spring air-gun, the combination with the barrel and the actuating-spring and piston inclosed in a piston-chamber formed in the rear end of the barrel and provided with an abutment for the piston at the junction of the piston-chamber and the bore in the forward end of the piston-chamber, of a gunstoek having a fore-end forming a socket and guide in which the rear end of the barrel is slidably secured movable in line with the spring and piston within the limits of their operation, and a rear abutment for the spring supported on the gun-stock and projecting into the piston-chmnber of the barrel, said barrel being free to slide over said abutment.

2. In a barrel-action spring air-gun, the combination of a gun-stock, the fore-end thereof forming a socket for the rear end of the barrel, the barrel slidingly engaging into said socket, the guide-lug on the under side of the barrel and the interior guide-bearing formed in said fore-end into which said guide-lug slidingly engages.

3. Inaspring air-gun, the combination with the barrel and the piston and its actuatingspring operatively inclosed in the rear end of the barrel between an abutment formed in the barrel, and an abutment supported on the gunstock, of a gun-stock having a fore-end forming a housing into which the rear end of the barrel loosely projects, a guide-lug on said barrel, and a guide-bearing in said fm'e-end into which said guide-lug slidably engages, said guide-lug and guide-bearing co(' perating to hold the barrel in sliding alinement with the gun-stock.

L. In a spring air-gun, the combination of the stock having a fore-end formed with a socket into which the rear end of the barrel slidably engages, the barrel secured in longitudinal guide-bearings in said fore-end and adapted to have a limited sliding movement therein in line with the socket, a piston-chamber in the rear end of the barrel inclosing the piston and its actuating-spring, an abutment for the piston in said barrel at the junction of the piston-chamber with the bore of the barrel and an abutment interposed between the rear end of the spring and the bottom of the socket in the fore-end, the barrel being adapted to slide over said abutment.

5. In a spring air-gun, the combination with the actuating-spring, piston, piston-rod and the trigger mechanism cooperating therewith, of the gun-stock having a fore-end formed with a socket into which the rear end of the barrel slidably engages, the barrel securedin' longitudinal guide-bearings in said fore-end and adapted to have a limited sliding movement therein in axial line with the socket, a piston-chamber in the rear end of the barrel inclosing the spring and piston and provided with 'an abutment for the piston at the junction of the pistonchamber with the bore of the barrel, and an abutment projecting into the rear end of the barrel free to actuate the barrel and supporting the spring in said barrel, said abutment provided on its under side with a guide-groove for guiding the piston-' rod into engagement with the trigger.

6. In aspring air-gun, the combination with the actuating-spring, piston, piston-rod and the trigger mechanism, of the gun-stock having a fore-end formed with a socket into which the rear end of the barrel slidably engages, the barrel secured in longitudinalguide-bearings in said fore-end and adapted to have a limited sliding movement therein in axial line with the socket, a piston-chamber inthe rear end of the barrel inclosing the spring and piston, an abutment for the piston formed in said barrel at the junctionof the piston-chamber with the bore of the barrel, and an abutment for the spring projecting into the rear end of the barrel free to slide in the barrel when the barrel is actuated, said abutment being loosely I abutted at its rear end on-the bottom of the socket and formed with a guide-groove along its under side for the piston-rod.

7. In a spring air-gun, thecombination with the air-compressing piston and spring, of the.

longitudinally-slidable barrel formed with a piston-chamber at its rear end inclosing the spring and piston, said piston-chamber being open at its rear end .and provided with an abutment for the piston at its .junction with the bore of the barrel, the gun-stock having a slide with the barrel the distance of the travel of the piston, and an-abutment loosely interposed in the socket between the rear end thereof and the actuating-spring of the piston, said abutment having a head projecting into the rear end of the-piston-chamberand adapted to slide therein when the barrel is actuated.

8. In a sliding-barrel-action spring air-gun, the combination of the barrel, the T-headed guide-lug on the under side of the barrel and the fore-end plates F secured to the gun-stock and conjointly forming a housing for the rear end of the barrel, and interior guide-bearings for the guide-lug of the barrel.

9. In a sliding-barrel-action spring air-gun, the combination of the gun-stock A, the stockplates G secured thereto, the fore-end plates F secured to said stock-plates and conjointly forming a housing for the rear end of the barrel, the barrel B formed with the lug E, the interior guide-bearings e in the fore-end plates,

the rubber buffer it and the screw f transversely connecting the forward ends of the plates F. o

10. In a sliding-barrel-action spring air-gun, the combination of the gun-stock A; the stockplates G connected thereto and formed with the projections 7c and Z, the fore-end plates F uniting with said projections as described and forming conjointly a housing for the rear end of the barrel, the barrel, having the pistonchamber formed in its rear end and provided with the guide-lug E, the interior guide-bearings for the said lug formed in the fore-end plates, the rubber bufiter it between said foreend plates, the trigger mechanism secured between the stock-plates, the spring and piston in the piston-chamber of the barrel, the abutment J interposed between said spring and the projection is of the stock-plates and the piston-rod traveling in a guide-groove in the under side of said plunger.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MERRITT F.- STANLEY.

Witnesses:

A. L. BLANGHARD, T. CARRoTnnRs. 

